The good daughter (OUAH)
by J-Farraday
Summary: Chara was brought back from the dead and has now a chance start her life over. But she can't help but wonder about the circumstances of how this happened, but her family doesn't want to tell. Determined to find out by herself, Chara reads Asgore's diary to find answers. But she hates what she discovers. Can Frisk make her feel better about herself?


**This one takes place a few days after the end of my "Once Upon A Handplate" story. If you haven't read it, you'll be a bit confused by what's going on. But I shall give some context. At this point, both Frisk and Asriel are adults, since it takes place after the pacifist ending. Chara, coming from a (parallel) genocidal timeline, was an adult too, but then was magically reverted back to a child so she could start her life over, without memories of having been evil.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "Undertale" or its characters, they belong to Toby Fox. The version of Gaster presented is the one from "Handplates", Zarla's AU. I just own the two briefly seen children, Sam and Piper.**

* * *

Since the night Chara got reverted to her child age again, the young girl's mind was filled with many questions. Chara knew that her parents and Asriel weren't telling her the whole truth when explaining the circumstances of her "return", but she didn't dare to ask them what they were hiding from her. At first, Chara thought she preferred to not know. But as days passed, the thoughts of what could've happened between her death and her resurrection got more frequent. Her curiosity got teased for the first time the day when she was brought to Gaster's home for a medical checkup. Considering what Chara went through, Toriel estimated necessary to make sure there were no repercussions on her health. And so, two days after Chara's return, the mother and daughter presented themselves at Gaster's threshold. Gaster had tensed as soon as he saw Chara, which wasn't left unnoticed. The girl was used to Gaster's cold and distant attitude around her, so she wasn't very surprised. But then, when she and Toriel entered the house, she met an unusual sight. In the living room, two human children were playing a video game. This reminded Chara of what she's been told two days ago: Gaster had adoped children during the De-Code. The information was very surprising to Chara, because for as long as she remembered, Gaster didn't like humans which was why he wasn't very friendly to her. And now, when Gaster was raising two humans as his own children, Chara couldn't help but wonder if the skeleton changed his mind about humanity. But if he did, so why was he still not at ease around her?  
"Allow me to introduce you to someone." - Toriel said to her daughter, making the twins look in their direction - "Chara, those are Sam and Piper, Gaster's children. They also are your great-nephews."  
"That makes me feel a bit old…" - Chara remarked awkwardly.  
Chara noticed that Gaster's gaze was stick to her, and also that the twins had tensed when she walked in. Not daring to meet Sam and Piper's gaze, Chara said quietly:  
"Anyway, nice to meet you…"  
"N-Nice to meet you too, Chara." - Piper said politely, sounding nice with a hint of nervousness.  
"Yeah... Glad to see you're… back in the family." - Sam added, his tone more awkward than his sister's.  
The thirteen years old girl frowned, sensing their tension. From what she had heard, those two loved humans and monsters equally, and that they were naturally friendly. So why did they seem withdrawn around her?  
"Toriel, would you mind to keep an eye on the twins while I examinate Chara?" - Gaster requested.  
"Of course not, Gaster." - Toriel replied with a smile as she sat down on the couch, then asked the children - "Now, what is that game you two are playing?"  
"It's called 'Super Smashing Fighters'." - Sam replied.  
"We each select a character and then we fight on a stage to eject our rivals out of it. The last person left wins!" - Piper explained with a enthousiastic smile.  
As the twins were explaining the mechanics of the game and showing all the characters they had, Gaster asked Chara to follow him in another room. Chara would've preferred for Toriel to come with her, because she felt uncomfortable to be around Gaster alone. But she had no choice, so she silently followed him. When the two entered a room that had medical equipement, Gaster asked Chara to sit on the bed, which she did. While Gaster was picking the needed devices, a silence was weighing in the room that made Chara feel uncomfortable. As Gaster put the blood pressure meter around her arm, Chara decided to break the silence.  
"Doctor Gaster, I-"  
"Be quiet." - Gaster replied - "Don't speak while I measure your blood pressure."  
Reluctantly, Chara nodded. She waited until the doctor was done with the blood pressure before speaking up again.  
"I... I am surprised to see you with human children." - she said - "I never thought you'd like humans someday."  
"...I didn't think it either." - Gaster replied after a short pause - "My children showed me that not all humans are bad after all."  
"Does it mean that…" - Chara hesitated - "...that you'd be nicer to me?"  
Gaster didn't immediately reply, while he handed Chara a thermometer. As she slid it under her shirt to put it in her armpit, the skeleton answered:  
"I all depends on your behaviour."  
"Yeah, and __of course__, the twins didn't need to behave well for your approval." - Chara said bitterly.  
For a short moment, Chara could see a dark look in Gaster's eyesockets and she expected for a salty remark to come from him. But Gaster didn't reply anything and the look in his eyes was quickly gone, pretending as though he didn't care what Chara said. But the girl knew he did and she guessed that her words maybe weren't right to say. She sighed and said:  
"Sorry."  
"As long as you don't badmouth my children." - Gaster replied, his look softening a bit.  
The skeleton knew he had no right blame Chara for her bad attitude at times. She wasn't a flawless child, but he has never been a flawless person either. Before Gaster or Chara could say anything else, the thermometer started to beep. Chara handed the object to Gaster, who nodded as he looked at the number on the small screen. Gaster then took a needle and a flask, saying:  
"I'll take a blood sample to run some tests on it."  
"Alright..." - Chara pushed up her right sleeve.  
Gaster sat face to face with Chara and before he could pierce the vein with the needle, the human girl asked him another question:  
"Are you like that to me because of something that happened after I died?"  
"May you be more concrete?" - Gaster asked, even though he had an idea of what Chara meant.  
"Does it have anything to do with- ow!" - Chara stopped mid-sentence when she felt the needle pierce her arm, before resuming - "Is it related to what Toriel and Asgore are hiding from me?"  
Gaster tensed shortly at the question, before replying with a neutral tone:  
"What makes you think they're hiding things from you?"  
"They were pretty vague about how I was brought back to life." - Chara replied - "I had asked Asriel about it yesterday, but all he said to me was that what truly matters is that I'm back and the rest is unimportant. He's always been honest with me before. And… now, you're being cold to me, despite slightly revising your view on humans."  
Gaster didn't answer anything, while he stood up with the flask of blood in his hand and went sit down at his computer. He used a strange high-tech device that resembled a scanner of a sort. Chara's eyes never left the scientist. Sensing her gaze on him, Gaster said:  
"I'll use this device Dr Alphys and I designed recently. It'll scan your blood and the programm shall transfer all its data to my computer. It's much faster than running tests normally."  
"So my family really is hiding something… Am I right?" - Chara asked, even though she knew she had guessed correctly.  
Another silence followed her question, but it didn't last. With a small sigh, Gaster looked at Chara and said:  
"I'm afraid it's not up to me to tell. If you really want to know, you must ask the king and queen directly."  
"I see…"  
Now Chara had the confirmation that something very big had happened before her return. But she still wondered if knowing was a good or bad idea. After all, if Asgore and Toriel were hiding it from her, they must've had a good reason… right? It took about ten minutes for Gaster to fully study the blood sample and come to the conclusion that there were no anomalies and that Chara was fine.  
"From what I see on my screen, you're not ready to die again." - Gaster said, turning his head to her.  
"You must be very disappointed now." - Chara replied with mild sarcasm.  
"I never wished you dead, I just could never trust you, like any humans. There's quite a difference."  
"Why? I hated humanity just like you did. You and I had so much in common."  
Gaster thought about it for a moment. It's true that technically, considering their common grudge towards humanity, they had a potential to get well along. But he could never fully trust Chara, because she's always been hard to pin down.  
"...There's a question that's been bugging me for a while now." - Gaster paused for a moment, before looking straight into Chara's eyes - "That night, when you made Asriel cross the Barrier with your SOUL, what was your real goal? Was it to free monsterkind, or to unleash your anger on the humans?"  
"Honestly... it was a little of both." - Chara answered, before averting her gaze.  
It was true. She cared for monsters a lot, they gave her a home and love, yet she could never forget what she had to go through during her life at the Surface. When she discovered that strange world beneath the mountain, Chara found out that the monsters shared her pain; they too had suffered from the humans' hands. Thus, taking six human lives to give monsters the life they deserved sounded very fair to her. Even if it meant giving up on life.  
"At least, you answered honestly." - Gaster commented.

Days went by, and Chara noticed that Sans was behaving weirdly around her too. Asriel would often take her for a walk at the park of the Monster Village. And every single time, they'd come across Sans. The first couple of times, Chara could believe that it was a coincidence, but it didn't take her long to see Sans' game. He was following her on purpose. It was true that Sans' hot-dogs stand was located in the park and thus it would be natrual to meet him there every once in a while. But sometimes, the royal siblings would come across Sans at a spot that was too far from the stand for it to be a coincidental encoutner! And that wasn't all. Not only Asriel and Chara were sure to meet Sans at some point of their walk, but Chara could swear that Sans was giving her subtle messages. The skeleton would give longer looks to Chara than to Asriel, and saying things that would make her uncomfortable. One time, the Dreemurr children came across Sans when they were eating a Nice Cream. When Asriel offered Sans to buy one for him too, the skeleton replied with a "joking" tone:  
"nah, i'll pass. or it would make things too ****cold**** between us."  
But Chara could tell it was more than just a joke, considering the subtle look Sans gave to her. Asriel laughed a bit at the pun, but it sounded quite uncomfortable. Chara noticed and so she decided to ask Asriel why Sans was acting all weird around her. When the skeleton was out of sight, Chara half-whispered:  
"Why is he being so bizarre when I'm around? What did I ever do to him?"  
"Sans is a bit bizarre in general… don't mind him. It's nothing personal."  
Chara noted that Asriel's answer sounded fake. Her brother had never lied to her before. She really hated that not only Asriel was hiding things from her at their parents' request, but also lie to her in the face! Sure, it wasn't a big bad lie, rather a way to avoid a question. But it was no less irritating. At that moment, Chara made up her mind: if her family wasn't willing to tell her what was going on, she would find it out by herself!

It was the next day that Chara mentally thanked her lucky star. Because her parents declared they'd be gone for the entire afternoon at the city. There was apparently some meeting, which Chara didn't care about. What mattered however, was the fact that she'd have a few hours to seek for answers. She knew that Asgore had for habit to write in a journal to express his thoughts and feelings of the day. Chara had no doubt that her father would have written about that terrible secret. All she had to do was to read Asgore's journals to find what she wanted to know. While the king and queen would be gone, Chara would have more than enough time for that! But her enthousiasm got cut short when her brother looked at the screen of his cellphone, getting a text from Frisk.  
"Frisk says she's coming by." - Asriel suddenly said with a smile - "That way, the three of us can do something together!"  
"Just great..." - Chara muttered with an annoyed sigh.  
"Don't be like that, Chara. I think you and Frisk should spend more time together." - Toriel said as she knelt to her daughter - "It would be nice if you two get to better know each other. After all, you're sisters."  
"Sisters by pure misfortune, yes." - Chara replied with a sigh.  
"Hey, don't talk like that." - Asgore called her back to order - "I know you don't like humans very much-..."  
"That's an understatement." - Chara said, crossing her arms.  
"...but Frisk is part of our family. More than that, she's one of us." - Asgore finished - "So you must give her a chance."  
"Dad's right, Chara." - Asriel joined in - "Frisk didn't hurt a single monster since she fell down. Not only she freed monsterkind, but she even married a monster!"  
"Yes, I know all that..."  
"So please be good when she'll be here." - Toriel requested.  
"What, are you assuming I'll act nasty?"  
"No! Of course not… I was just saying."  
Chara rolled her eyes with a long sigh. Seeing that his daughter was bothered, Asgore led Chara aside so they could have a word more privately, and knelt down to be at her level.  
"Chara... I know that the situation is pretty... confusing and a little uncomfortable for you." - Asgore started, making Chara scoff - "Yes, the changes in the family are abrupt from your point of view. But… you have no reason to fear anything or anyone. Frisk is a very nice person, so I'm sure you two can become close friends, if you give it a chance."  
Chara turned her head, averting her gaze. She wasn't very open to anything that her father had to say. But Asgore gently turned her head back to make her look at him again.  
"Toriel and I are there for you, and-"  
"It really is time to go Asgore, or we'll be late." - Toriel said as she walked up to her husband.  
The king gave a glance to the clock and noted that his wife was right. They no longer had time to waste. Before standing up, he lightly but affectioningly ruffled Chara's brown hair, saying:  
"We'll talk when we return, if you want."  
"Yeah... We'll see." - Chara replied quietly with a faint nod.  
In no time, the two rulers of monsters went out of the house, leaving Asriel and Chara alone. The girl let a few moments of silence pass before looking up at her brother and asking:  
"Who do you like more: me or Frisk?"  
"Chara… I care for both of you equally." - Asriel answered.  
"Oh, is that so?" - Chara crossed her arms, frowning.  
"You are both my sisters, so of course I love you both. I wouldn't prefer one over the other."  
"And who's your best friend then?"  
Chara's voice sounded subtly demanding. Asriel wasn't at ease with this conversation, because he feared that his answer wouldn't satisfy his scarred human sister.  
"There's room in one's heart for two best friends." - he answered honestly.  
"You used to say that _**_I_**_ was your best friend." - Chara replied with a hurt expression.  
"And you still are!" - Asriel knelt down, lying his hands on Chara's shoulders - "Then, when I was a flower and did many… terrible things, I met Frisk. At first I even thought she was you, that's how much I missed you. But during a moment of madness, Frisk could reach the real me and make me regain my compassion. It was for a short time, but it was more than enough for me. For what she did for me, while I barely did anything in return, I see her as my best friend."  
Asriel could see that Chara wasn't exactly willing to understand, but he didn't give up in trying to explain. He rubbed her shoulders in reassurance and pursued:  
"You were gone Chara, and I was all alone. So I found another friend in Frisk. But even though she and I became friends, I never forgot you. And now that you're back, I'm happy to have you both in my life. Both friendships mean the world to me."  
Chara seemed to have relaxed a little and after a moment of silence, she nodded. The two siblings heard footsteps in the corridor, and the next moment, Frisk showed up at the doorframe of the living room.  
"Hi guys!" - she said with a smile - "I'm so glad Mom and Dad were the only ones called for the meeting. It's not every time we have a day off from the political duties. Right, Asriel?"  
"You don't say." - Asriel agreed - "Those meetings are often so stressful, and there are too many things I have yet to get familiar with… I'm barely given a break..!"  
"This is exactly why I wanted us to relax our minds today." - Frisk commented as she searched in her bag - "Chara, Asriel told me about your tastes and I think I found a movie you'd like."  
Frisk took out of her bag a disc that she showed to Chara, who took it in her hands and studied it a few moments. She then handed it back to Frisk and said with a shrug:  
"Yeah, I guess it looks cool..."  
"I'm certain you'll love it. Asriel and I love this movie, so I think we should watch it together." - Frisk said with enthousiasm - "So? What do you say?"  
"It's a good idea. I'll go prepare the snacks while you turn on the movie." - Asriel said, before disappearing in the kitchen.  
While Frisk turned on the tv and the disc player (Asgore had acquired those some time after the breach of the Barrier), Chara stood in the middle of the room with an awkward look. She then made a shy step towards Frisk and after a short hesitation, she asked:  
"So... Asriel talks to you about me..?"  
"Sure he does! Since I don't know much about you and he does, he tells me a lot about your likes and dislikes… That way, I can know more about you." - Frisk answered with a smile.  
"I see..."  
Still sitting on the carpeted floor, Frisk then turned around so she could face Chara and said:  
"But I'd like to know you not only from our brother's stories. It would be nice if you and I talked more. Whenever you have a problem, or if you just want to chat… But no pressure or anything, it was just a suggestion."  
"I'll have to see…" - Chara shrugged with a distant look.  
Frisk gave her an understanding smile. The young woman knew how much it wasn't easy for Chara, considering her presumingly bad experience interacting with humans. Frisk knew that patience with her was the key, while still encouraging Chara to express more openly what was on her mind. The whole Dreemurr family knew that it wouldn't be easy, but they wouldn't give up on her.  
Soon, Asriel came out of the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn, soda drinks and other candy, including Chara's favourite chocolate bars. It pleased the girl, eliciting a little smile from her. The three then took seats and started the movie. The first half of the movie, everything went well, and Chara noted that the movie was indeed in her tastes. But she kept thinking about what she had planned to do. There maybe wouldn't be a moment as good as this one, it had to be done then. Chara stood up and said:  
"I uh... need to go to the bathroom, if you don't mind..."  
"Of course we don't. I'll pause the movie until you come back." - Frisk replied.  
"No! I mean, there's no need for that. Keep watching..." - Chara requested, before going out of the living room.  
"I wonder if she's sick?" - Asriel wondered out loud - "Maybe she ate too much chocolate bars…"  
"I don't know... maybe..." - Frisk replied thoughtfully.  
While the two adults were sitting in the living room, Chara made it to the parents' bedroom. Her gaze travelled around for a moment, after what she decided to look in the chest of drawers. It was obvious that Asgore wouldn't let his intimate thoughts to the exposure of foreign eyes. Before she pulled the top drawer, Chara paused, looking at the many photo frames standing on the furniture. There were many of them. There was a picture representing the king and queen the day of their wedding, one of Toriel holding the baby Asriel, another of Asriel and Chara shortly after the latter fell down in the Underground. There was also the family picture of Asgore, Toriel, Asriel, Chara and Gaster. The two kids were holding a bunch of flowers, and Chara's face was even barely visible. The girl smiled at the memory; even if she wasn't the best represented, she still liked that photo. Just like did her parents. Right next to that photo, stood one of just Asgore, Toriel and Gaster, holding his science diploma. Obviously a picture taken the day of his graduation. And then, Chara found pictures she'd never seen before. Those that represented Frisk. Chara observed them curiously. There was a picture with Toriel and Frisk, presumingly shortly after the Barrier was broken. Another one represented Frisk and Papyrus, with their infant daughter Noelle. And there was one with Asgore and Frisk. Considering that the young woman was wearing a wedding outfit, Chara concluded that the photo was taken shortly after the father-daughter dance. But then, Chara remembered what she came for and pulled the drawer. She carefully looked in between the folded clothes, searching for a journal. Not finding it, Chara pulled the middle drawer and after proceeding the same way, she found a black notebook. With a short feeling of victory, Chara pulled the journal out of the drawer and sat down on the king-sized bed. She browsed the pages quickly until her eyes came across her own name, making her pause. And so, she started to read. As Chara kept reading, she soon felt like she'd need to use the bathroom for real. Because what she was reading about __herself__ made her sick. It also made her feel like she'd pass out, and tears blurred her vision. Chara tried to fight them back, but to no avail. She then decided she could read no more, and so she shut the notebook close, trying to overcome the shock. For a moment, she just sat there, like paralyzed. Then, Chara stood, and tried to put the journal back where it was. Her eyes met the picture of Asgore and Frisk again. On that photo, Asgore looked so happy and proud of his perfect daughter… Chara's emotions getting all agitated and acting on pure impulse, she grabbed the photo and smashed it against the floor.  
"Chara..? What are you..?"  
The girl looked up to see that Frisk was standing at the doorframe with a surprised and confused look. Since Chara wasn't returning in the living room for a while, Frisk got worried and had decided to check if she was alright. Not seeing Chara in the bathroom, Frisk checked her parents' room where she saw the light being on. Chara gave Frisk an angry glare and snapped:  
"You don't actually care for me, right?! You're just afraid I turn 'evil' again!"  
"What? No! What makes you say that..?"  
"I just read our father's journal! It tells everything about what I did! And you all hid this from me..! It's because you're afraid, isn't it..?!"  
"Chara, I can explain..." - Frisk started calmly.  
"No! I don't want to hear anything from __you__, the perfect Dreemurr daughter!" - Chara snapped - "I hate you! All of you!"  
Saying no more, Chara rushed out of the bedroom and long the corridor, going past a very confused Asriel. When he saw that Chara rushed out of the house, he turned his head to Frisk and asked:  
"What's going on? I heard yelling."  
"I'm afraid Chara's going through another crisis..." - Frisk said as she carefully took the photo from the floor - "Asriel, could you get rid of the broken glass while I go after Chara?"  
"Shouldn't I go after her instead?" - Asriel asked.  
"No... This one is for me. It's something she and I must clear up now." - Frisk replied, shaking her head - "Which way did she go?"  
"She went in the direction of the Underground."  
Saying no more, Frisk went in the indicated direction. She walked across the empty Capital until she took the elevator that took her to the Core. That was where she found Chara, sitting in a corner, her face hidden behind her knees. Slowly, Frisk approached the child. Chara heard her footsteps but didn't move. She didn't even react when Frisk sat down right next to her. A short moment of silence passed before Frisk spoke up:  
"Chara, if we hid it all from you it's not because we're afraid of you or that you'll turn 'evil'. But it's because we knew you wouldn't take it well. Nobody could possibly take it well."  
"It doesn't matter... It changes nothing." - Chara muttered, before raising her head - "In the end, you'll always be the good daughter."  
"What, are you saying you're the bad one?" - Frisk asked - "Come on, this is silly."  
"Is it? You are the one who saved monsterkind, something I failed at. I wanted their freedom as much as you did, but all I did was to kill my own brother. And now… I find out I had tried to kill our parents, and you… and your daughter… I even tried to… seduce your husband..? How can I possibly look in his eyes from now..?"  
Tears fell down Chara's cheeks, as she furiously tried to wipe them away. Frisk looked at her with a sad look. Sniffing, Chara kept going:  
"I always wanted to prove to monsters that humans can be different… that __I__ was different. But it turns out that I'm no better than the jerks who banished monsterkind under the ground. I became what I've always despised…"  
The teen paused for a moment. Frisk waited patiently for her to keep going. She could tell by Chara's look that she was far from being done. And she was right, because the young girl soon went on.  
"I did __nothing__ in my life to make things better for anyone. I fooled myself and Asriel into thinking that we could be heroes. But I was mostly thinking of me." - Chara then let out a sigh - "And then, you arrive and change everything. You gave the monsters the freedom they craved for for a long time… And you did so without hurting anyone. You're now their embassador, the peacemaker Asgore wanted so much. You're the special girl he and Toriel can be proud of."  
"Don't call me 'special girl'. To them you're as special." - Frisk protested.  
"When they adopted me, I wanted them to be proud of me. But I failed, I only disappointed them. You however… you're everything they wanted to see in me. You make them happy, Frisk. " - Chara said, looking at her feet.  
"Just like you do. True, our parents were disappointed by your actions. But they keep believing in you. They know you can change for the better, and this is why they want to help you. Hence why they hid certain things… Mom and Dad love us equally, Chara. Regardless of our strong points and flaws. If they didn't care for you, they wouldn't have welcomed you back in their house."  
"So you think I still matter to them just like before..? Despite everything?" - Chara asked with a hint of hope, looking at Frisk.  
"I have zero doubts on that point." - Frisk smiled at her.  
The two sat in silence for another moment. Frisk then stood up and offered a hand to Chara, suggesting her to go back home and finish the movie together. Finally managing a tiny smile, Chara took Frisk's hand and stood up. As the two girls walked to the elevator, Chara said:  
"I'm sorry for breaking the photo..."  
"You only broke the frame, not the photo itself. So don't worry about it." - Frisk reassured Chara, wrapping her arm around her.  
Chara gasped a little, surprised by the kind gesture coming from the human woman. Frisk realized that she perhaps should've asked Chara beforehand if she was alright being touched like this and she was about to apologize, but Chara leaned into her a bit, indicating it was fine. As the elevator took them back to New Home, Frisk smiled, having a good feeling about the new relationship she and Chara could build.

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**A/N: Chara was doomed to find out the truth one day or another... I wanted to write this one-shot to display how Chara deals with the new situation and the changes in her newly granted life. She'll have to learn from her mistakes and work on herself to eventually become a better person. She has a way to go, but with her extended family around, she has the best chances. :)**

**The two photos that display Gaster are the canon photos from the "Handplates" comic! :D**


End file.
